Agents of HIME
by shanejayell
Summary: The Highest International Mercenary Elite or H.I.M.E. want you!
1. Nao Yuuki

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Mai Hime, I'm only borrowing them for awhile. Also, this is an alternate universe fic with yuri content, if that's not thing I suggest skipping it.

Nao Yuuki, Agent of H.I.M.E.

The Highest International Mercenary Elite or HIME base in Fuka was a beautiful place, the former school now converted to serve as a central hub for the powerful organization. Men and women hurried to and fro, going from the dorms to the school buildings, now used for training or administrative services. The mountains around the remote Japanese town served as a fitting training ground where teams of HIME faced off against each other in combat.

The slim redhead drew the eyes of many of the handsome young men, but as soon as they recognized her as Nao Yuuki they carefully looked away. Nao was the personification of youthful beauty, but she was also known for having a rapier wit and a evil mind that had embarrassed more than one unworthy suitor. The rumor was that she didn't like men, but no one seemed able to confirm that.

"Hey, Nao!" one of her few friends called, the light brown haired woman trotting over, her black haired shadow in tow.

"Hey Mai," Nao smiled wryly, "Hi Mikoto."

"Nao!" Mikoto nearly pounced on her, the tall, slim black haired woman hugging her. "Lunch was delicious!" she declared as she looked down at Nao, "You should have been there!"

Nao had to fight a chuckle. Mikoto was one of those straightforward, energetic people whom you either loved of hated to be around, filled with passion about the things they loved. "I had a knife throwing test," she explained, "or I would have been there."

"Passed?" Mai asked, her smile warm and confident as she walked between the tall Mikoto and shorter Nao.

"Of course," Nao smirked. "Knives are my specialty, you know."

Neither woman mentioned how they had first met, Mai and their leader Shizuru Fujino having found Nao on the street, the redhead robbing men at knife point. Nao had attacked them both instinctively, and only Shizuru's superior skill with a katana had saved Mai from serious injury at the mildly mad Nao's hands.

Nao had calmed down a lot in the two years since, but Mai could still see traces of the nearly feral young woman inside her. "Has the Headmistress decided on a graduation assignment for you?" Mai wondered.

"If so, the rumor mill is suspiciously silent," Nao admitted. Of course, around HIME the rumor mill was Chie Harada, the black haired ops officer who was a deadly covert agent in the field. Of course, she was silent to anyone outside their organization and was considered one of the most reliable operatives they had.

The 'graduation assignment' was a near tradition among the HIME, supposedly started by their founder Mashiro Kazahana. Once a agent's training was brought to a certain level they were sent out on a assignment, in part to gage their abilities. While not necessarily lethal the first assignment was usually dangerous, and a unwary or unprepared agent could find themselves washed out... or even dead.

"You'd better check out some covert armor," Mai offered the perspective of a senior agent, "and maybe some guns...."

"Nah," Mikoto shook her head, "stick with knives."

"Oh?" Nao looked at her thoughtfully.

"You're sneaky," Mikoto smiled at her warmly, "and you're good at it. Guns are noisy and very hard to sneak around with, even with silencers."

"Point," Mai admitted.

"Huh," Nao looked thoughtful. "Wonder how much I'll get told in advance? If it's a seduction job I have a couple of nice, slinky dresses...."

Mikoto snickered, "If those are the dresses you showed Aoi, I wouldn't call then nice."

Nao shrugged, "Okay, they make me look like sex on two legs. Happy?"

Mai laughed. "Where did you find them, anyway?" she demanded. "I could use a dress or two like that..."

"Not telling," Nao winked.

Not long afterward the summons came to the Headmistress' office, and Nao reported in a bit nervously. Shizuru Fujino had her usual little smile on her face, her manner calm and serene as she sat behind the desk, her long brown hair flowing over her shoulders.

"Miss Yuuki," Shizuru smiled warmly, "it's good to see you doing so well. Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you," Nao said, shaking her head, "but I can make up some for you if you like."

Shizuru smiled slightly, "No, that's all right." She studied Nao a moment, "You like to get right to things, don't you?"

Nao bit back a impatient comment then nodded. "Yes. Ma'am," she admitted, "sorry."

"Fair enough," Shizuru drew a file from one of the desk's drawers, "It's a retrieval job, a fairly simple task for your first assignment...."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Bullet fire rang out in the night, shots peppering the wall as Nao ducked, the woman dressed in a simple black bodysuit. "Simple task," she muttered irritably as she swiftly pulled a knife from the pouch on her leg. Taking a quick look she drew back her arm and tossed, the slim blade humming through the air before it struck the slightly stunned soldier, taking him in the throat. 'That just leaves two,' she thought bleakly.

"What was that?" Saeko Kuga asked, her black hair falling into her eyes.

"Never mind," Nao muttered. The scientist at District One was the subject of Nao's retrieval job, the developer of exotic weapons that a employer of HIME was rather interested in. Of course Nao suspected the Headmistress of having other motivations as well, it would be typical of Shizuru Fujino.

Saeko took Nao's arm as she started intently into her eyes, "I won't leave here without my daughter, Miss. I don't care if it gets me killed, I will not abandon her again."

Naio grit her teeth as more bullets hit the wall they were cowering behind. She could probably knock Saeko out, but hauling a unconscious woman out of the facility would be impossible. Which meant... "Where is she?" Nao had to ask.

"They're holding her in the cryonics facility," Saeko said quietly. She added, "Please, I'll pay whatever you want...."

Nao nodded slightly, "I'll do it, Ms. Kuga. But you have to follow my lead, all right?"

"Yes," Saeko nodded eagerly.

"Hey guards!" Nao yelled out to the men firing at them, "I want to make a deal!"

A few moments later Reito Kanzaki warily watched as the two women emerged from cover. "Come forward slowly," the black haired man cautioned mildly, "we wouldn't want anything unpleasant to happen."

"Right," Nao said as she kept Saeko in front of her, keeping a close eye on the blonde boy beside Reito. She walked up to them slowly, then in a sudden gesture shoved Saeko into Reito's arms. Spinning about she hammered the blonde in the chin with the base of her palm, then struck with the blade she had carefully hid in her other hand.

"Gods!" Saeko made a choking sound as the boy fell backwards, one of Nao's blades jutting from his temple and probably plunged into his brain. She looked warily up at the other man, "You are...?"

"Reito Kanzaki," he bowed slightly, "undercover operations. How do you do?"

"Save it, Cassanova," Nao said to him flatly, "there's a hitch in the plan. We need to get to the cryogenics facility."

Reito listened to Saeko, nodding slightly. "All right," he saud briskly, "I planed some demolition charges around the facility. I'll use those and my other talents to provide a distraction."

"Don't get killed," Nao ordered as she picked up a rifle and lead Saeko away.

'Such a kind girl, deep down,' Reito noted as he pulled out a remote control and detonated the administrative building of the District One research center. As he watched the panic he ducked into the shadowed corners, using his silenced pistol to drop soldiers at a distance as he mused, 'I hope that kindness doesn't get you killed.'

Saeko winced as the first explosion went off, both young women running from areas of cover across open areas then back to the shadows. "It's just ahead of us," she told Nao softly.

"The building with all the guards?" Nao sighed, seeing five armed men loitering in front. They seemed more casual than good guards should be, but with the open area around the building it would be difficult to sneak up on them.

"Yeah," Saeko admitted. "I don't know why they didn't go check out the explosions...."

Nao looked down at her black costume, mind racing. "Hold on a minute," she said as she began to tear the cloth, "I have a plan...."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So then," Shizuru looked over the field report, "you stripped down to your underwear and ran across the zone towards them?"

Nao squirmed uncomfortably under Shizuru's amused glance, dressed in a simple shirt and jeans. "Men don't think too well dealing with nakedness," she said with as much dignity as she could muster, "it slowed them down enough I could stop them."

"Fair enough," Shizuru conceded. She read over the report, "You both busted Natsuki Kuga from captivity, found Reito before he could blow too much more up then made it to the extraction point. Would that summarize things well enough?"

"Yes ma'am," Nao answered. She hesitated, "I know things escelated far beyond the mission brief, but it was beyond my control."

Shizuru laughed, "I didn't call you in to lecture you, Nao, in fact I wanted to congradulate you. You did very well, as well as any of my experienced agents."

Nao smiled, "Thank you ma'am."

"I've talked to Mashiro Kazahana and the other members of the board," Shizuru added, "they've agreed to bump you past the probation period and into full fledged HIME status." She smiled, "Well done."

"I'll do my best," Nao said, hurrying out once she was excused.

"Indeed you will," Shizuru murmured, already having ideas of how to use such a interesting agent....

To be continued?

Notes: It's really HARD to make up a acronym for HIME. Heh! But I think the concept worked all right, and I may do a follow up at one point. Maybe a crossover with Agents of SENSHI?


	2. Mai Tokhia

Agents of HIME

Two: Mai Tokhia

Guilt was a powerful motivator, Mai Tokhia had found. At a young age her little brother had nearly drowned while under her care, and the medical bills nearly drowned their whole family in debt. To try to relieve some of that pressure Mai left school early, despite her parents (weak) protests, and went into cooking in a professional way, sending some of each pay cheque back home to her parents. It was a hard life, no question, but it was also a satisfying one.

The light brown haired woman looked around in awe at the mansion, one of several belonging to the Suzushiro family, as Mai accompanied the caterers into the building. There was apparently a high level corporate meeting tonight, and the Suzushiros wanted to impress their guests. Mai assisted in preperations and helped set up the trays of food, then removed her outer apron to reveal the maid outfit underneath.

"So," Mai whispered to her co-worker Akane, "who's idea was this?"

Akane smiled cynically as she whispered back, "Apparently one of the women we're serving has a thing for pretty ladies."

"Really?" Mai looked scandalized.

Miss Midori, the head of the catering company, cleared her throat as the perpetually seventeen redhead said gruffly, "Let's get to serving, girls,."

Out in the main hall the tables were lined by the rich and powerful, men and women of note across the head of the center table Haruka Suzushiro was a energetic, powerful young woman, the inheritor of her father's construction company which she had built into a nation wide powerhouse. Beside her was the power behind the throne, her adviser Yukino who was said to temper the president's more enthusiastic notions.

Beside the two women at the upper table was Shizuru Fujino, a beautiful if somewhat more mysterious figure. She was of noble birth and moved in the highest circles of society, but people seemed to know very little about her. The brown haired woman was beautiful and graceful, had a Kyoto accent and had the eccentric habit of wearing a katana occassionally, but other than that little was known.

Moving along the table Mai offered up her tray of food, passing out delicacies with expert skill. She silently put up with the men peering down her maid's top, schooling her expression to a cheerful smile. Reaching the head table Mai offered the snacks to the three women, then noticed a tall black haired woman standing off to one side.

Thin and angular the tall black haired woman looked like she'd just been through a growth spurt, her pants and shirt new and uncomfortable. Her blue eyes swept the room warily, not lingering on any one thing as she stood in the shadowy corner.

"The woman standing at the back," Mai murmured to Shizuru descretely, "would you like us to bring her out something, too?"

"You noticed her?" Shizuru looked at Mai thoughtfully, "Most people don't pay Mikoto much attention." She smiled, "She could probably clear a full tray herself, but you can certainly bring something out for her."

"Will do," Mai smiled as she continued passing out the food to the members of the head table.

Quietly Haruka addressed Shizuru, "I still don't see how Kazahana's plans will make us money. Isn't this sort of thing illegal?"

"Companies like Blackwater and others do quite well at it," Shizuru answered her mildly, "and I believe we will be covered under international law. We shall simply have to be careful operating at home, is all."

"That's simplifying things a great deal," Yukino noted mildly as she worked her blackberry, "but I think they are correct. We could even handle bodyguard duties at home, as long as we are careful in how to arm our operatives."

Finishing up with the food Mai left the main table, heading back into the kitchen with her empty tray. Looking up at Midori she smiled, "Could we put together a mixed tray, too? There's a woman at the back who hasn't eaten yet."

"She's a body guard," Midori noted with some amusement, "she's probably not supposed to eat anything just yet."

"A bodyguard?" Mai repeated, surprised.

"Mai, have all the guests arrived yet?" Akane asked brightly, the young woman carelessly intruding on the conversation.

Mai frowned at the interruption but answered, "I think so. At least all the tables were full."

"Good, then I'd better get to work," Akane trotted over to talk to her boyfriend, a tall, sullen boy named Tate Yuuichi.

"What was that about?" Midori started when Tate suddenly whipped out a sub-machine gun from from under his apron and raked the room with bullets, killing her in a instant

Mai gaped as Midori's blood splattered her cheek, then reflex took over as she dove for the floor. Tate was smiling coldly as he shot people, sending cooks and maids falling to the stones in splatters of blood. One young man, his face still looking stunned, fell on Mai, splattering her with more blood as she lay there, deathly still.

"Is that all of 'em?" Tate sounded disappointed at the end of the slaughter as they strode through the kitchen towards the inner door.

"Yes," they walked by the blood splattered Mai as Akane continued, "and Kazuya should have lead the team taking the hall. We're gonna be rich, baby!"

Mai lay there in the blood a moment, then once she was sure they were gone crawled towards where the phone hung on the wall. Hearing no dial tone she hung it up, looking around her wildly. She didn't look at her coworkers, not ready to deal with that, instead she found her gaze sweeping the walls and landing on the antique, cast iron frying pan hanging there. It was heavy in Mai's hands as she took it down, but she had built muscle working in the kitchen. A heavy cleaver was suddenly in her other hand, and Mai silently followed Akane and Tate out.

Carefully opening the door Mai swept the room, taking the situation in the main hall in. Two armed men were holding Shizuru and Haruka, and a third held Mikoto at gunpoint. A few other more casual men watched pver the other wealthy guests while Akane and Tate watched proudly from near the kitchen, Tate's machine gun slung at his side.

Somehow, just looking at them Mai knew that all Shizuru and Haruka were waiting for was a distraction, and then they would act. Silently she crept out of the kitchen, tucking the cleaver into her belt as she hefted the frying pan two handed. Easing it back over her shoulder Mai took a deep breath, then she swung with all her might.

"This is for Midori!" Mai yelled as the side of Tate's head caved in with a meaty and satisfying thunk, the blow sending him lurching sideways.

"Tate!" Akane yelped, her face and side splattered with high velocity brain matter.

Right on cue Haruka punched her captor in the face, a shockingly powerful blow that sent him reeling backwards. Before he could try for his weapon Haruka followed up, rabbit punching him in the nose and dropping him with a bruising uppercut.

At almost the same time Shizuru kicked her captor, knocking him backwards as she smoothly drew the katana. Not a replica it shimmered with the watermark of a finely crafted blade, shining as she struck. The blade sliced through the man like water, splattering the area with blood.

Observing her mistress was safe from reprisal Mikoto attacked, the black haired martial artist swiftly grabbing her supposed guard and disarming him. Inspired by their example the rest of the guests turned on their armed captors, and while this time there were some casualties, there were far more guests than attackers.

Recovering in seconds from her shock Akane scrambled for Tate's fallen gun, but Mai was faster. Leaving the pan embedded in Tate's head she whipped out the cleaver, taking a swing at Akane's hand and forcing her to yank it back. Kicking the gun towards Yukino Mai paced after the retreating Akane, occassionally taking experimental swings at her.

Neither were aware of the ongoing battle as they stalked each other in front of the kitchen, Akane producing a deadly looking switchblade from her maid's uniform. Snapping the blade out she hissed, "It doesn't have to be this way, Tokhia."

"Do tell," Mai followed her relentlessly, looking for a opening.

Flicking the blade back and forth Akane said, "I never knew you were this capable, Mai. How would you like to take Tate's place by my side?"

Mai could feel her lip curl up, watching the woman and wondering how she could ever have thought that her manic smile was friendly. Clearly, there was something badly damaged in her personality somewhere....

"I'll give you Tate's share and a bonus!" Akane offered desperately, "I know you need money, I've heard you tell that idiot Midori that before...."

As Akane overextended her hand Mai saw her opening. The heavy, well sharpened cleaver could cut heavy sides of beef, it was no problem to sever the connection between hand and wrist. Akane opened her mouth to scream as her hand holding the switchblade flew by, then Mai brought the oak handle to her chin in a powerful blow as she growled, "My brother wouldn't want any of your damned blood money!"

Seeing their leader down the remaining would be kidnappers threw in the towel, throwing themselves on the mercy of their captives. Haruka, especially, looked ready to kill but her partner Yukino calmed her down long enough for someone to call the police off a cellphone.

"Miss Tokhia, is it?" the cultured, slightly accented voice asked, and Mai turned to look up into Shizuru's red tinted eyes.

"Mai, yes," she stammered as the woman stood beside her by the entrance, watching the coroner pulling the bodies of her coworkers out of the kitchen.

"Then you must call me Shizuru," she said seriously. As Mai was about to protest she added, "Anyone who saves my life is automatically on a first name basis with me."

"I didn't...," Mai blushed.

"You went after them because they harmed a friend of yours, I understand," Shizuru said, patting her on the arm. "But if you hadn't acted, I doubt Haruka and I could have handled our guards as easily as we did."

Mai still wanted to argue, but she could see her point. "I suppose so," she admitted.

As the final dead were removed Shizuru took Mai's arm, gently drawing her back into the building. "I couldn't help overhearing you talk to that... woman," she said the last with distaste then continued, "you have financial difficulties?"

"Yes," Mai sighed and added, "but I don't want charity, Miss... I mean, Shizuru."

Shizuru smiled, "And I have no intention of offering that." As they entered the main hall she said, "In fact, I would like to hire you for a certain venture I'm starting up. As a cook, to start with though I may have other jobs for you too."

"Oh?" Mai looked at her thoughtfully.

Shizuru smiled slightly, "I must confess, there may be other situations like today. The sort of lifestyle I envision will be... unusual."

Mai thought of the snippets of conversation she heard that night and guessed, "Mercenaries?"

"Brave, capable and intelligent," Shizuru murmured then nodded, "Indeed. Of the type that stop this sort of thing."

Mai thought of her boss Midori, a adventurous woman who would have jumped at the offer and smiled sadly. "I'll do it," she looked at Shizuru, "but I want a raise."

"Done," Shizuru said, taking her hand and shaking it.

"Miss Fujino?" Mikoto asked quietly as she walked up to the two of them.

"Shizuru, remember?" she chided gently.

"Shizuru," Mikoto agreed, then her stomach grumbled loudly. She sighed, "I'm hungry."

As Mai bit back a laugh at the girl-woman's sheepish look Shizuru explained, "Mikoto just finished a monumental growth spurt, nearly two feet. I think she's still recovering."

Fighting back a chuckle Mai took Mikoto's hand, "I'm sure there must be something left on the buffet tables. Let's go look, shall we?"

Mikoto smiled down at Mai as she eagerly followed, "Sure!"

To be continued?

Notes: When I wrote the Nao chapter I included Mai, not really thinking how a mostly 'normal' cook could have fallen in with the HIME. Keeping her background mostly the same I decided she might have met Shizuru shortly after she started up the HIME and got involved in a mission by accident. I like making Mikoto a tall grown up as a excuse to explain her eating, plus I think it's cool. If you want to imagine what she looks like, think of a more energetic version of Maggie from Read or Die TV.

Sorry to any Akane, Tate and Kazuya fans. I wanted to use 'name' Mai Hime characters as villains, Also sorry to the Midori fans. I had originally thought of her being a villain too, but making her a innocent caught in the crossfire made a better inspiration for Mai to continue on.


End file.
